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G6TII Congress, ) SENATE. j Documknt 

2d Session, f • 1 No. 24G. 



5ERVICE SCHOOL FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 



LETTER FROM CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF EFFICIENCY, TRANS- 
MITTING, IN RESPONSE TO SENATE RESOLUTION OF JANUARY 
7, 1920, A REPORT ON THE DESIRABILITY OF ESTABLISHING 
A TRAINING SCHOOL FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN THE DIS- 
TRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



March 3 (calendar day, Mai;ch 6), 1920. — Roferred to the r'omniUtee oil 
Finance and ordered to he printed. 



United States , Bureau of Efficiency, 

Washington., March 3, 1920. 
My Dear Mr. President: Senate resolution No. 270, adopted 
January 7, 1920, directed the Bureau ot Efficiency to submit as early 
as practicable a report on the desirability of establishing a school 
to train Federal employees in the various, classes of work performed 
in the executive departments and indeiJendent establishments of the 
Government, and , to submit recommendations with respect to the 
conduct of sue' I a school. 

The report called for by the resolution accompanies this letter 
with a draft of an act to estal)lish a Government service school. 
Yours, very respectfully, 

Herhert D. Brown, 
Chief Bureau of Efficiency. 

The President of the Senate. 



Report to United States Senate on Service School fok Federal 
Employees Prepared by United States Buijeau of Efficiency. 

service school for federal employees. 

The Bureau of Efficiency was directed by Senate resolution adopted 
January 7, 1920, " To submit to the Senate, as early as practicable, 
a report on the desirability of establishing a school for the purpose 
of training Federal employees in the various classes of v.ork per- 
formed in the executive departments and independent establish- 
ments; and to submit recommendations with respect to the conduct 
of such a school." 



2 SEKVICE SCHOOL FOR PEDEEAL EMPLOYEES. .'^^ ^^<^. \. 

In compliance with this resolution the following reporl; is-' sub- 
mitted. 

The project of establishing a school of instruction under Govern- 
ment supervision for the Federal employees in the City of Washing- 
ton has often been urged. Advocates of the plan have pointed out 
that of the 100,000 employees of the Government in the Federal capi- 
tal, thousands yearly attend courses given by local universities, high 
schools and business schools. They have argued that the Government 
itself should undertake to supply educational facilities for its work- 
ers. Five questions require answer before it can be decided whether 
the present educational facilities should be supplemented by instruc- 
tion given under Government supervision. They are : 

1. Does there exist a demand among employees of the Government 
in Washington for a school conducted by the Government? 

2. Is the kind of instruction that Government employees particu- 
larly need already available in other educational institutions? 

3. What would be the probaMe cost of such a service school? 

4. Would the Government itself gain, in the way of better and 
more efficient service, a return greater than the money expended ? 

5. What agency within the Government is best fitted to conduct 
such a school? 

When these questions are answered definitely, it will be possible to 
pass judgment on the validity of the project. It may be said at this 
point that the Bureau of Efficiency has come to the conclusion that 
the Government would find it worth while to institute such a school, 
and, furthermore, that it will neglect a great opportunity if it fails 
to do so. 

PROSPECTIVE PATRONS. 

The records of the Civil Service Commission show that more than 
100.000 persons of adult age are now employed by the Government 
of the United States in the District of Columbia. A vast majority 
of these persons are under 30 years of age. Figures are not avail- 
able to show the amount of schooling these employees have had. 
However, it would be fair to assume that the employees of the Bu- 
reau of War Risk Insurance are typical of the whole service. In 
October, 1919, of 11,253 employees of that bureau, both men and 
women, 8 per cent were college or university graduates, 58 per cent 
had finished high school only, and 32 per cent had finished grade 
school only. This accounts for 98 per cent. The other 2 per cent 
had not completed the common school. Generally speaking, the em- 
ployees in the Government have not had the opportunity to educate 
themselves to the extent of acquiring college degrees. Furthermore, 
the figures collected for employees of the Bureau of War Risk Insur- 
ance show that, although only 8 per cent had achieved college degrees, 
37 per cent had entered college and had been forced to leave at the 
end of one, two, or three years. The reasons for the termination of 
their college careers were not specified, but doubtless the need for 
earning a living was a controlling factor in most cases. It is fair 
to assume that there are thousands of clerks in the Government 
service who would be glad to carr^^ their education further. 

Many Government employees now avail themselves of educational 
facilities in the District of Columbia. Last year about 5,500 per- 
sons attended special night classes given in high' schools; about 

or »t 11. 

MAR .il**f920 



SEEVICE SCHOOL FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 6 

1,500 more attended the evening classes of the Y. M. C. A.; about 
2,000 others were enrolled in the various courses given after office 
hours in George Washington University; 1,000 attended the evening 
classes in law given by Georgetown University. The total of per- 
sons taking special courses in public or quasi public schools is 10,000. 
At least two-thirds are employees of the Government. In addition 
there are 22 private schools other than boarding schools in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, many of which recruit their clientele from the 
working staff of the Government. It should be noted in passing that 
all of these institutions charge tuition, the fee ranging from $5 a 
month to $10 a month or more. 

Even more direct evidence may be found in the result of a ques- 
tionnaire sent out by the Bureau of Education to all Government 
departments and independent establishments in October, 1918, de- 
signed to ascertain how many persons in the Government service 
were desirous of attending a school conducted b}" the Government. 
Eleven thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven employees de- 
clared their intention of enrolling if the courses should be started. 
Of these 8,804 were willing to pay tuition at the rate of $4 a month 
if necessary. About half of the 11,700 declared that they desired 
instruction for the purpose of securing further advancement in their 
work. 

From all the evidence available it would appear that the Govern- 
ment would have no difficulty in filling its classrooms. A service 
school conducted by the Government would not attempt to duplicate 
the courses of instiTiction given by existing public or private insti- 
tutions. Its instruction would be adapted closely to the needs of 
Government work. The standards of study should be high. After 
making due allowance for the specialized nature of the instruction 
offered, and for outside competition, it would be safe to assume that 
the Govemm.ent could attract at the beginning at least a thousand 
students a year to the courses it offered. 

GOVERNMENT COURSES FOR GOVERNMENT WORKERS. 

In constructing a curriculum the Government would have to 
choose, of course, from a wide range of possible subjects. It would 
be guided in its choice by the need for giving instruction fitted to its 
own purposes and by the desirability of avoiding duplication of 
courses offered by other schools. It would not attempt to offer 
courses on general high school and college subjects, such as algebra, 
physics, biology, economics, and the languages. Furthermore, it 
would not teach trade and commercial subjects, such as mechanical 
drawing, nursing, or engineering. A Government school should limit 
itself to courses which are not given in other schools, or which, if 
given, are taught in a manner that leaves out of consideration the 
particular needs of the Government. 

Such a plan will leave open to the Government a special field of 
instruction. There are many subjects of which a knowledge would 
be peculiarly valuable to Government employees and in which instruc- 
tion of a practical kind is not now available. For example, the ordi- 
nary courses given in bookkeeping and accounting are designed for 
the purpose of training students to take places in commercial con- 



4 SERVICE SCHOOL FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 

cerns. Such accounting courses do not emphasize at all the pecu- 
liarities of Government accounting procedures. Again, administra- 
tive law as invariably taught in our schools and colleges deals with 
State, city, and county law — ^with such topices as the abatement of 
nuisances, police powers, removals from office, and local taxation — 
and touches upon the National Government in the most cursory 
manner. Likewise with statistics, business English, and office pro- 
cedure. It is impossible at present to secure in Washington, or, in- 
deed, anywhere in the country, instruction which would be of direct 
assistance to Government employees in the performance of their 
duties. 

The courses given at a Government service school would be, to a 
certain degree, new; that is to say, different from courses given 
elsewhere under similar titles. The material for these courses would 
have to be gathered by competent instructors, for no textbooks of 
the kind needed are now available. The following tentative schedule 
gives a list of courses which might well comprise the curriculum of, 
a Government service school at the beginning: 

1. Bookkeeping and elements of accounting. 

2. Government accounting. 

3. Elements of statistics. 

4. Government statistics. 

5. Filing systems and labor-saving devices. 

6. Government office procedure. 

7. Use of business English. 

8. Executive management. 

9. Organization of the National Government. 

10. Administrative law and statutory construction. 

11. History of the Federal Government. 

It will be found desirable, of course, to add other subjects from 
time to time. The course on bookkeeping and elements of account- 
ing and the course on elements of statistics would cover funda- 
mentals, and would be preliminary to more advanced courses in the 
same subjects. The other courses would be geared directly to Gov- 
ernment practices. 

All of these courses would, of coui^e, be so designed that they 
would make a special appeal and be of particular benefit to that class 
of Government clerks who are interested in their work and eager to 
get forward in the Government service. 

PROBABLE COST OF SCHOOL. 

The largest element that would enter into the cost of a Govern- 
ment school would be the wages of the instructing staff. This staff, 
however, could be largely drawn from the personnel of the execu- 
tive departments. There are hundreds of men and women in the 
Government service who have received a thorough academic training 
and are fully competent to impart instruction. Many of these would 
be glad to secure an opportunity to earn additional money. If the 
school offered pay at the rate of $25 a week for instruction in three 
classes it could attract excellent teaching talent. However, in order 
to secure whatever talent is available in executive departments, it 
would be necessary to exempt the faculty from the act of July 31, 



SERVICE SCHOOL FOE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 5 

1894, which prohibits any person who holds a position with an annual 
salary amounting to $2,500 from holding any other paid office, and 
also from the provision of the act of May 10, 1916 (39 Stat. 120), as 
amended bv the act of August 29, 1916 (39 Stat. 582), which reads in 
part as follows: 

Unless otherwise specially authorized by law, no money appropriated by this 
or any other act shall be available for payment to any person receiving more 
than one salary when the combined amount of said salaries exceeds the sum of 
$2,000 per annum. 

If any act is passed authorizing' the establislnnent of a Govern- 
ment school, it should specifically exempt the instructors in the 
school from the operation of these provisions, for otherwise the per- 
sons best fitted to teach in the school would be forced to give their 
services either gi*atuitously or not at all. In addition to the teachers, 
the service school woidd need two permanent administrative officers — 
a director, at not less than $1,000 a year, whose duties would be en- 
tirely executive, and a secretary and registrar, at about $2,500 a 
year, who would take care of the routine business of the school — 
a,nd a stenographer, at $1,500. 

To make even a tentative calculation of the cost of the school it 
is necessary to estimate the number of students who will attend, 
the number of courses to be given, and the number of classes to be 
held during the year. For the purpose of such a calculation it may 
be assumed that courses are to be given each year in 12 subjects and 
that these 12 courses are patronized by 1,000 students. It may be 
assumed further that the school year is to be divided into two terms 
of 16 weeks each. The first term would probably include the months 
of October, ISovember, December, and January; while the second 
term would cover the months of February, March, April, and May. 
Classes of about 50 students each would meet three times a week, a 
total of 20 classes running throughout a school year of 32 weeks. 
On the basis of one instructor to each of these 20 classes, with com- 
j)ensation at the rate of $25 a week, the total cost for the faculty in 
salaries would be $16,000 a year. Adding to this a salary of $4,000 
for the director, a salary of $2,500 for the secretary and registrar, 
and $1,500 for a stenographer, the total cost of personnel would be 
$24,000 a year. Probably $8,000 more would be sufficient for equip- 
ment, bringing the initial appropriation necessary for the school to 
$32,000. Against this sum would be offset the tuition fees paid by 
the students. Of course, one large item of expense has purposely 
been omitted in this calculation, namely, the rental of buildings. 
The Government has on hand considerable space which could be 
made available for the use of the school. A number of the so-called 
" temporary " structures erected during the war are partitioned in 
such a way that they would afford excellent classrooms. Since all 
of the classes would be held in the evenings, it might not be abso- 
lutely necessary to preempt space for the school which could not be 
used for general clerical purposes during the day. The director and 
registrar would need two or three rooms pennanently, equipped with 
deslvs, chairs, filing cabinets, and similar standard office equipment. 
The classrooms, outside of chairs and a few blackboards, would need 
very little equipment. About $8,000 would co^'er this outlay. 

If considered desirable, the Government could reimburse itself 
for the cost of the school through tuition fees. In answer to the 



6 SEKVICE SCHOOL FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 

questionnaire sent out by the Commissioner of Education in the 
fall of 1918, 8,800 employees signified their willingness to pay tuition 
at the rate of $4 a month. A thousand students paying $4 a 
month throughout two terms of four months each would pay into 
the funds of the Government $32,000 a year, which is an amount 
approximately equivalent to the estimated cost of the school. It 
might be desirable to charge the students less than $4 a month in 
order that no one, even with heavy pecuniary obligations, would feel 
the burden. Two dollars a month would be a fee high enough to pre- 
vent idlers and triflers from taking the courses ; whereas it would not 
be high enough to bar out anyone really desirous of obtaining instruc- 
tion. Fees of $2 a month would return to the Government $16,000 a 
year, leaving the net cost of the school about $16,000 for the first 
year. A fixed fee should be charged each student whether or not 
he took one course or two courses. Probably two courses would be 
the maximum that any one person should be allowed to carry dur- 
ing any one term. 

ADVANTAGES TO THE GOVERNMENT. 

The Government would profit in a number of ways from the 
maintenance of a service school. The persons who come into the 
Government service vary greatly in the amount of schooling which 
they have received, as well as in native intelligence. Yerj few of 
them have received any sj^ecialized training which would aid them 
in the particular tasks which they perform. They acquire pro- 
ficiency in their tasks, if they acquire it at all, simply by actually 
doing the work. If they are engaged in doing some kind of Gov- 
ernment accounting work, or in collecting and interpreting Govern- 
ment statistics, they have no place to go where^ they can receive 
competent instruction in the principles that should govern their 
work. If they dictate letters, they have no means of learning what 
are the best ways of conducting Government correspondence. A 
Government service school would afford facilities for instructing 
such employees in the best practices of their particular lines of work 
and would produce a constantly growing body of well-trained Gov- 
ernment workers. Obviously, the service that they would render 
would be more intelligent and consequently more efficient. 

In the second place, a service school would stimulate the ambition 
of the employees. It would be a concrete demonstration that the 
Government was eager for its workers to advance themselves within 
the service and to better their positions and salaries. It is often 
alleged, and with considerable truth, that although the Government 
service affords as good pay in the lower types of clerical work as 
commercial concerns it does not offer a future. Young men and 
women are quite as much interested in their chances of advancement 
as they are in their present incomes. Upon the successful comple- 
tion of a course in the Government school, the student should be 
given a certificate of proficiency. This would be concrete evidence 
that he was qualified to do certain specific work. Of course, it 
would not be desirable to guarantee to graduates of the school places 
of greater responsibility or higher compensation. But they would 
be better qualified for such advancement and would have greater 
confidence in seeking more difficult and better paid positions in the 



SERVICE SCHOOL FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 7 

(government. It goes without saying that the present legal provi- 
sion against transfer from one department or independent estab- 
lishment to another at increased salary should be abrogated. The act 
of October 6, 1917 (40 Stat., 383), reads in part as follows: 

No civil employee in any of the executive departments or other Government 
establishments, or who has been employed therein within the period of one 
year next preceding his proposed employment in any other executive depart- 
ment or other Government establishment, shall be employed hereafter and paid 
from a lump-sum ap])ropriation in any other executive department or other 
Government establishment at an increased rate of compensation. And no civil 
emploj^ee in any of the executive departments or other Government establish- 
ment, or who has been employed therein within the period of one year next pre- 
ceding his proposed employment in any other executive department or other 
Government establishment and who may be employed in another executive de- 
partment or other Government establishment, shall be granted an increase in 
compensation within the period of one year following such reemployment. 

For the good of the service this provision should be repealed. If 
it were allowed to stand and a Government school were instituted, 
the Government would place itself in the position of training its 
employees for higher grade positions and then denying access to 
them. 

If the avenues of advancement were made easier to employees, a 
double advantage would acrue to the Government. In the first 
X)lace, experience would be retained. In the second place, the labor 
turnover would be reduced. At present the labor turnover is abnor- 
mal. In 1916 the rate of separation for the Government service was 
11.71 per cent. For 1917 it was 20.02 per cent. For 1919 it was much 
higher. These percentages include all separations. The rate of 
separations due to resignations was 5.64 per cent in 1916, 10.43 per 
cent in 1917, and approximately 30 per cent in 1919. Of course, the 
1919 figure is far in excess of the normal. However, the figure for 
1917, which shows a rate of resignation of over 10 per cent, is likely 
to be the normal rate for many years to come. A rate of resignation 
of 10 per cent in a clerical force of 100,000 means 10,000 resignations 
a year. Any business firm would be alarmed at such a turnover in its 
clerical help. It has been estimated that the cost of a single turn- 
over — ^that is to say, the cost of securing a new employee to replace an 
employee who has left, and of training the new employee to perform 
the work with equal proficiency — is about $50. If in the first year 
even 500 resignations could be prevented through the advantages 
offered by a service-training school, the money saved would amount 
to $25,000. 

A considerable reduction in the labor turnover of the Government 
through the creation of a training school is shown to be well within 
the bounds of possibility by the experience of corporation schools. In 
fact, over 200 manufacturers who have established training depart- 
ments in their factories voluntarily testified that their labor turn- 
over was cut in two. These figures were gathered by the United 
States Training Service of the Department of Labor. So effectual 
have training schools proved in reducing labor turnover that scores of 
corporations have embraced the plan. The National Association of 
Corporation Schools was started in April, 1913. In September, 1919, 
this association numbered 140 members, representing 68 lines of in- 
dustry and half of the capital of the country invested in industries. 



b SERVICE SCHOOL FOE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 

In other words, practically all of the biggest commercial concerns 
have establishecl training schools of one sort or another. 

Schools in commercial concerns are of three types : First, vesti- 
bule schools, through which employees are passed for a week or two 
of training immediately after their emjoloyment ; second, apprentice- 
ship schools, in which boys and young men are trained through a 
series of months for their trade while acting as helpers to journey- 
men ; and, third, training and vocational schools with courses which 
run through a series of weeks or months and which are sometimes 
conducted during work hours, but more often in the late afternoon 
or evening. The subjects given in training and vocational schools 
cover a wide range; but they usually offer instruction in subjects 
that have particular application to the work of the plant or office. 
It is within this latter type that the proposed Government service 
school would fall. 

The Government of the United States has not, to any considerable 
extent, followed the example of private industry in the matter of 
service schools. However, for six months previous to the armistice 
the Bureau of War Risk Insurance conducted a vestibule school for 
correspondence clerks and " awarders." At present there is a 
school in the Bureau of Internal Revenue which has as its purpose 
the training of employees of the Income Tax Division. Classes are 
held after hours through a term of about five months. Both the 
vestibule school in the Bureau of War Risk Insurance and the 
training school in the Bureau of Internal Revenue have proven de- 
cidedly worth while. The Government service school would have 
a wider scope than either of these two schools. The city of New 
York has, for a number of years, devoted particular attention to the 
schooling of its employees. Through the cooperation of the college 
of the city of New York, large classes are being conducted after work 
hours for municipal employees. Out of a force of 15,000 persons 
10 per cent, or 1,500, are enrolled in these schools. The New York 
City government has found the plan of offering educational facilities 
to its employees to be more advantageous. The National Government 
should show itself to be equallj^^ progressive. 

MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOL. 

The Bureau of Efficiency feels strongly that the Government of the 
United States would gain vastly in more intelligent service, in stim- 
ulus to enthusiasm, in retention of experience, and in reduction of 
labor turnover by the establishment of a service school. These ad- 
vantages can be obtained at a cost which would be, in view of the 
benefits, negligible. Of course, the realization of these benefits will 
depend to a considerable extent upon the wisdom with which the 
school is planned and conducted. There are several agencies in the 
Govermnent which could handle the school adequately. However, 
since the primary purpose of the school would be to increase clerical 
efficiency in the departments, the logical agency for its administra- 
tion is the Bureau of Efficiency, whose principal duty is to devise 
efficient methods of conducting Government business. This agency 
would have always in mind the direct practical application of the 
education received to the work of the departments. Much of the 
material for the courses, particularly those in accounting. Govern- 



SERVICE SCHOOL FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 9 

ment statistics, labor-saving devices, and office procedure, is readily 
avaliable nowhere else in the Government. 

AN ACT To establish a service school for civilian employees of the United States in the 
District of Columbia and to encourage the promotion of the most efficient employees to 
higher positions. 

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, (a) That for the fiscad jear ending 
June 30, 1921, there is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $32,000, for the establishment and 
maintenance of a Government service school; Provided, That all fees for tui- 
tion which may be collected from employees of the Government who enroll as 
students in said school shall be covered into the general fund of the Treasury. 

(b) That the Chief of the Bureau of Efficiency shall appoint a director and 
a registrar of the Government service school. 

Sec. 2. That the director of the Government service school shall, under the 
supervision of the Chief of the Bureau of Efficiency, offer such courses of 
study as appear best fitted to increase the efficiency of the employees of the 
Government in the discharge of their present duties, and to qualify them for 
promotion to positions of greater responsibility within the Government service. 

Sec. 3. That all temporary, probational, and permanent employees of the 
Government and of the District of Columbia shall be eligible, upon evidence of 
proper qualifications and the payment of the required fees for tuition, to 
enter upon the courses of study offered : Provided, That no instruction shall 
be given during regular office hours: And provided ftirtJier, That the fees 
assessed shall in no instance exceed $2 a month for one person. 

Sec. 4. That space for offices and classrooms shall be allotted to the Gov- 
ernment service school in such Government buildings as are not required for 
other purposes. 

Sec. 5. That the teaching staff of the Government service school shall be 
drawn so far as possible, from the personnel of the Government departments, 
and that persons employed as instructors in such school are hereby specifi- 
cally exempted from the provision of the act of May 10, 1916 (39 Stat., 120), 
as amended by act of August 29, 1916 (39 Stat., 582), which prohibits the 
payment of two salaries to one person when the combined amount of said 
salaries exceeds the sum of $2,000 per annum. 

Sec. 6. That section 7 of the act approved October 6, 1917, entitled "An 
act making appropriations to supply urgent deficiencies in appropriations for 
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1918, and prior fiscal years on account of. war 
expenses, and for other purposes," is hereby repealed. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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